The present invention relates to the field of hardware control, and, more particularly, to controlling the speed of cooling fans for multiple computer systems based on altitude/fluid density measurements from a centralized altitude sensor.
Computer systems, particularly those systems consisting of multiple servers, require a cool operating environment for optimal operation. However, an air-conditioned room only provides static cooling for the computer systems. That is, the cool air sits around the housing of the computer system. Thus, most computer systems, such as rack-mounted systems, utilize multiple cooling fans in various locations to propel the cool air and/or draw the heated air through the computer system.
The computer systems often utilize various environmental factors to regulate the speed at which the cooling fans operate, typically the temperature of the air surrounding critical components of the computer system. Unfortunately, most computer systems ignore the altitude of the computer system when determining the speed of the cooling fans. Altitude is typically compensated for by configuring the cooling fans to run at a faster speed, which is unnecessary for low altitudes. Thus, cooling fans operate at a speed that is unnecessarily fast in low altitude environments, creating unnecessary noise and consuming more power. It should be noted that altitude is utilized loosely herein to refer generically to a density measurement of a working fluid. The working fluid being measured is typically air, which is able to be measured with an altitude sensor or some other fluid density sensor.
To accurately adjust and/or monitor the altitude at which the computer system is operating, conventional solutions require the installation and configuration of an altimeter component to each computer system. However, this approach is not cost-effective in the majority of situations.